Meadow moth [1] ( lat. Loxostege sticticalis ) is a species of butterflies from the family of grass-fire gnomes, a multi-eating pest.
Meadow moth |
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Scientific classification |
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No rank : | Bilateral symmetric |
Hoard : | Insects with full transformation |
Nadotryad : | Amphiesmenoptera |
Infrastructure : | Butterflies |
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International Scientific Name |
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Loxostege sticticalis Linnaeus , 1761 |
Synonyms |
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- Phalaena pyralis Linnaeus , 1761
- Pyralis fuscalis Hübner , 1796
- Pyralis lupulina Clerck , 1764
- Botys lupulinalis Guenée , 1854
- Phalaena Tortrix miana OFMüller , 1764
- Pyralis tetragonalis Haworth , 1811
- Pyralis sylvata Panzer , 1804
- Loxostege sticticalis tenebrosa Caradja , 1939
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Content
DescriptionSexual dimorphism is expressed : males are smaller than females. The wingspan of males reaches 18–20 mm, females - 20–26 mm. The front wings are grayish-brown in color, with brown spots and a yellowish strip along their outer edges. The color of the hind wings is gray. In males, antennae are serrate, in females - filiform.
Biology FeaturesImago life expectancy is 4-20 days. Butterflies active at dusk. One generation is developing in the Nonchernozem Zone; two generations - in the forest-steppe and northern steppe regions, in Siberia and the Far East; three or four generations are developing - in the southern steppe regions, in the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia.
Butterflies fly at different times depending on the area of the range and are often stretched: overwinter imagoes fly - in May-June, first generation - in June-July, second generation - July-August, third and fourth generations - in August-September .
Life cycleAfter mating, the female lays from 30 to 300 eggs, up to a maximum of 600 eggs. The eggs of the female are laid on the lower sides of the leaves of forage trees, in groups of 2-3, less often - one by one. The duration of the egg is 2–15 days. Caterpillars at the end of their development reach a length of 35 mm. The caterpillars are very changeable in color, ranging from light green to gray-green, sometimes almost black. On the back and sides are dark stripes. The head is black with a light pattern. The caterpillar stage lasts 10-30 days. At first, the caterpillars are found on the leaves under a plexus of silk thread, at later ages they begin to feed openly, eating leaves and sometimes stems. Caterpillars winter in cocoons in the soil. The pupal stage lasts from 7 to 38 days. The color of the pupa can be from light yellow to dark brown.
Area and numberThe species is distributed in Europe, Asia and North America. High numbers were observed in Bulgaria , Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Mongolia, China, Turkey, and Iraq. In Russia, the highest numbers are observed in the forest-steppe, steppe zones and the southern part of the taiga zone. Butterflies of the meadow moth were also observed in more northern areas during periods of extensive outbreaks of mass reproduction and reached the Smolensk-Tver, Yaroslavl , Kirov , and Perm lines. However, inappropriate climatic conditions lead to the extinction of the pest in these areas within one or two generations. The absence of a food base favorable for the development of the moth and not too favorable weather and climatic conditions in the Baltic States, Fennoscandia and Kamchatka allow considering these regions only as areas of possible pest introduction in the years of mass reproduction, where it is not able to sustain its development for a long time.
Economic valueThe butterfly belongs to the group of especially dangerous multi-nest pests that manifest their harmfulness during periods of increase in numbers and mass reproduction, occurring with a cycle of 10-12 years. The greatest damage is caused to sugar beets , perennial legumes , sunflower , peas , hemp , corn , and vegetable plants. Able to damage barley, wheat, sorghum, potatoes. It inhabits more than 200 species of wild and weed plants, where populations are preserved and developed in the phase of decline and depression.
Notes- ↑ Striganova B. R. , Zakharov A. A. Pyatiazychny dictionary of animal names: Insects (Latin-Russian-English-German-French) / . - M .: RUSSO, 2000. - p. 229. - 1060 copies. - ISBN 5-88721-162-8 .
Literature- Biological Encyclopedic Dictionary / Ch. ed. M. S. Gilyarov ; Edited .: A. A. Baev , G. G. Winberg, G. A. Zavarzin, and others. - M .: Sov. Encyclopedia , 1986. - p. 332. - 831 p. - 100 000 copies